1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to methods for inspecting a manufacturing device and, more particularly, to methods for inspecting a manufacturing device by inspecting a plurality of parts that have been manufactured by the device.
2. Background Information
Various qualification methods are known for determining whether, for example, a rotor blade casting die can form a rotor blade that complies with a blade design specification. The blade design specification may include information regarding geometry and/or structural properties of the rotor blade.
A typical qualification method for a rotor blade casting die includes a step of creating a surface geometry map of at least one rotor blade, formed by the die, with a mechanical contact measuring device. Data from the surface geometry map is analyzed to determine whether dimensions of the rotor blade are within tolerance of the geometry designated in the blade design specification. Such a qualification method, however, can be relatively time consuming since the mechanical contact measuring device measures one data point at a time.